I invited some 70 people to allow me to photograph them in a place that has special meaning for them, a place that they love. Then I photographed that space without them in it, and asked them a series of questions about their own death.

Do you think about what happens to us after we die, and if so, what? What would you like done with your mortal remains? Do you sometimes imagine your funeral or memorial? Are you afraid of dying? What do you hope your legacy will be? What music do you want your mourners to hear? If there were one piece of music in particular, what would it be?

The purpose of the work is to open up an intimate conversation about our mortality, to first imagine the world without us in it, and then talk about our own absence from this world. We live in a largely death denying culture, and I believe art is a profound way to allow us to express some of our deepest thoughts and fears. Judging by the eagerness of the response, people are hungry for this discussion.

The tapes were edited down to a 100-word quote. Editor Dennis Day created a video of all the participants, including a clip of the music they want played at their funeral. The interplay between still images and subtle fading in and out of images and words is itself a dialogue between motion and stillness, between presence and absence, between life and death.